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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Det. Bullock on June 15, 2020, 04:42:04 pm

Title: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on June 15, 2020, 04:42:04 pm
https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/squadrons/overview
Energy management referenced in the cinematic trailer, huh?
One can only hope.

Also: goddamit if this turns out good I'll have to install windows 10 to play it.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: wookieejedi on June 15, 2020, 05:32:21 pm
Indeed. We've been chatting about it on the Discord server. Article with more details is here
https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-squadrons (https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-squadrons)

ETS is confirmed as is 5v5 team strategy battles, with the goal to destroy the opposing capital ship. SP campaign is also specified, but most of focus on on MP.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: deathspeed on June 15, 2020, 07:59:26 pm
I may have to break my rule of $20 limit on games.  The last time I broke that was for Ace Combat 7, and before that was for Rebel Galaxy: Outlaw, and I did not regret the expense for either of those.

Hell, I may even pre-order.  I haven't done THAT since Battlefield 3!
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: wookieejedi on June 15, 2020, 09:41:46 pm
Same, I'm rather optimistic about this game and looking forward to seeing gameplay footage at EA Play on the 18th.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on June 15, 2020, 10:40:15 pm
Goddamn, this is a crossplay-supported game? That means I won't have to shell out a ridiculous amount of money for a VR rig and I can just play on my laptop PC? Sign me up!
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Scourge of Ages on June 15, 2020, 11:22:43 pm
Well consider me interested!
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Rhymes on June 16, 2020, 03:28:36 am
please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on June 16, 2020, 04:38:27 am
I am currently trying to get a straight answer as to what engine it runs on out of my EA contact. I will adjust my expectations according to the answer.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on June 16, 2020, 05:55:07 am
I think I spied "in game engine" or something similar.  I was expecting a cut down battlefront 2 engine but I don't remember it looking that polished. There's an actual gameplay trailer out soon likewise I'll reserve judgement although I'll let it be known now that 5 V 5 would improved by adding more players per team.  But it depends on map size I guess and how much open space there is.    As I said, gameplay trailer will allow me a better informed opinion.

Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on June 16, 2020, 06:32:42 am
The endcard has a disclaimer that reads "Rendered in Frostbite. Images may not appear in-game".

Battlefront 2 was made in Frostbite, the DICE in-house engine. And with a few exceptions (see Respawn) its what EA wants all their studios to use, for reasons cooperate synergy and cost reduction - however with games like Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem re-tooling the engine for systems beyond a shooter gameplay caused issues and development hold-ups, and you can find documented stories of problems with the in-company support in the post-mortems of these games.
However it also has an established VR interface.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: spart_n on June 16, 2020, 07:21:34 am
>5v5 gameplay
>4 fighters each for every faction

the math is not adding up to me
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on June 16, 2020, 07:52:42 am
>5v5 gameplay
>4 fighters each for every faction

the math is not adding up to me

Team composition is part of developing a strategy for a match. Even without info from my contact, I think its a sure bet the fighters will have unique functionality attached to them - and not just different stat blocks.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Sandwich on June 16, 2020, 08:29:59 am
Team composition is part of developing a strategy for a match. Even without info from my contact, I think its a sure bet the fighters will have unique functionality attached to them - and not just different stat blocks.

Yeah, it feels like they're moving in a direction of making it like a forced, artificial rock-paper-scissors, with classes and counters applied to the ships rather forcefully. I'd rather they give them each their expected stats (shields, maneuverability, speed, etc), commonly-accepted weapon loadouts to choose from, and let the dice fall where they may.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: The E on June 16, 2020, 08:32:07 am
we're supposed to be getting a deeper look at the game on the 18th; I'd try not to speculate too much until then.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Rhymes on June 18, 2020, 11:05:06 pm
Holy **** it looks so ****ing good

Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on June 18, 2020, 11:44:33 pm
:jaw: :jaw: :jaw: and VR is only optional? Sweet!
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Trivial Psychic on June 19, 2020, 01:15:39 am
I wonder if they'll have further DLC for other crafts and historic battles.  Falcon, Tie Defender, Tie Advanced, and B-Wing?
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Kiloku on June 19, 2020, 06:52:44 am
According to the dev interview (https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2020/6/18/21295900/star-wars-squadrons-everything-you-need-to-know), there'll be no DLC. Let's see how long EA will allow that idea, though.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: The E on June 19, 2020, 07:03:21 am
They said that they don't have plans at the moment, but I can guarantee you that if this thing becomes a success and starts having legs, it will get DLC eventually.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on June 19, 2020, 07:03:48 am
As game balance is a huge issue in this game, introducing new ships would be problematic as you’d have to have a counterpart on the opposing side. If the TIE bomber is equivalent to the Y-wing, then what would be the Imperial equivalent of the B-wing? Ditto the TIE Advanced and especially the TIE Defender. I can’t see the makers of this game canonizing stuff like the E-wing (blech!) to compensate.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Mobius on June 19, 2020, 07:11:14 am
The graphics are awesome but I sense something diverging quite a bit from classical space sims. There may be, although I can't be 100% sure of this, "some" RPG like influences in this game. It's a strong feeling I have and comes by judging the game mechanics shown during the promo trailer, as well as the other "between the battles" scenes.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: The E on June 19, 2020, 07:15:48 am
It's a class-based TvT-shooter with variable and unlockable loadouts.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on June 19, 2020, 10:03:04 am
The graphics are awesome but I sense something diverging quite a bit from classical space sims. There may be, although I can't be 100% sure of this, "some" RPG like influences in this game. It's a strong feeling I have and comes by judging the game mechanics shown during the promo trailer, as well as the other "between the battles" scenes.

At the moment we have yet to see actual gameplay, we've only had the classic scripted stuff that probably runs in real time but has been carefully coreographed.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Buckshee Rounds on June 19, 2020, 12:09:32 pm
It does look really good, but where is the coffee machine, huh? Where is the FIDELITY?!
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on June 19, 2020, 01:48:44 pm
Were there five different ship classes mentioned, I only counted four :confused:
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Rhymes on June 19, 2020, 01:52:55 pm
As game balance is a huge issue in this game, introducing new ships would be problematic as you’d have to have a counterpart on the opposing side. If the TIE bomber is equivalent to the Y-wing, then what would be the Imperial equivalent of the B-wing? Ditto the TIE Advanced and especially the TIE Defender. I can’t see the makers of this game canonizing stuff like the E-wing (blech!) to compensate.

FYI in the new canon the B-Wing is the counterpart to the TIE Defender--they're both depicted as basically superfighters.

Were there five different ship classes mentioned, I only counted four :confused:

Nope. Only four. 5 players, four classes. You gotta pick your team composition.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on June 19, 2020, 05:45:32 pm
As game balance is a huge issue in this game, introducing new ships would be problematic as you’d have to have a counterpart on the opposing side. If the TIE bomber is equivalent to the Y-wing, then what would be the Imperial equivalent of the B-wing? Ditto the TIE Advanced and especially the TIE Defender. I can’t see the makers of this game canonizing stuff like the E-wing (blech!) to compensate.

FYI in the new canon the B-Wing is the counterpart to the TIE Defender--they're both depicted as basically superfighters.

But the TIE Defender is (or so it played in the original TIE Fighter game) way more maneuverable than the B-Wing; the Defender is supposed to be the ultimate space superiority fighter (outclassing other fighters) while the B-wing is supposed to be a capital ship killer. How can those two ships have such different roles and still be "balanced counterparts" to each other, especially when the other fighters between the New Republic and the Empire (TIE fighter and X-wing; TIE bomber and Y-wing; TIE Interceptor and A-wing) have far more equivalence between them?

Think about that: that does not make sense! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdba9C2G14)

EDIT: Just after I posted this, I remembered the Missile Boat, which is a cap ship killer like the B-wing...but it's also a redonkulous Game Breaker (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GameBreaker) that any sense of "balancing" with that ship would and must in good conscience be considered utterly and completely Lovecraftian insane that not any of the Elder Gods, Outer Gods, or Great Old Ones would even think about doing it without screaming in gibbering terror. Hell, even Nyarlathotep himself might blink at that. :eek2: :nervous: :eek2:
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: starlord on June 19, 2020, 07:00:46 pm
Hell, who knows... last I heard the b wing had a superlaser.

I miss the time when Star Wars, somehow, made more sense.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on June 19, 2020, 07:24:43 pm
Hell, who knows... last I heard the b wing had a superlaser.

Technically, that was a prototype. There's no indication (yet) that the superlaser made it into the mass production phase.

I miss the time when Star Wars, somehow, made more sense.

I miss the days when the Skywalker Saga wasn't ruined by a disappointing ending. :( :blah: :sigh:
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Trivial Psychic on June 19, 2020, 08:03:13 pm
Another cool addition might be the Ghost.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on June 19, 2020, 08:05:43 pm
As game balance is a huge issue in this game, introducing new ships would be problematic as you%u2019d have to have a counterpart on the opposing side. If the TIE bomber is equivalent to the Y-wing, then what would be the Imperial equivalent of the B-wing? Ditto the TIE Advanced and especially the TIE Defender. I can%u2019t see the makers of this game canonizing stuff like the E-wing (blech!) to compensate.

FYI in the new canon the B-Wing is the counterpart to the TIE Defender--they're both depicted as basically superfighters.
Not really, the prototype was a superfighter but what made it super, the supercannon, had a tendency to fry the hyperdrive which is a huge no-no for hit and run attacks. They use it once in Rebels and in the same episode they said that they should probably ditch the supercannon.

But then again the B-wing was initially absent from X-wing vs Tie Fighter too, in the end it's mostly a spruced up Y-wing in terms of gameplay so they'd need to find some way to make it useful alongside the Y-wing instead of it being a substitute.

As game balance is a huge issue in this game, introducing new ships would be problematic as you%u2019d have to have a counterpart on the opposing side. If the TIE bomber is equivalent to the Y-wing, then what would be the Imperial equivalent of the B-wing? Ditto the TIE Advanced and especially the TIE Defender. I can%u2019t see the makers of this game canonizing stuff like the E-wing (blech!) to compensate.

FYI in the new canon the B-Wing is the counterpart to the TIE Defender--they're both depicted as basically superfighters.

But the TIE Defender is (or so it played in the original TIE Fighter game) way more maneuverable than the B-Wing; the Defender is supposed to be the ultimate space superiority fighter (outclassing other fighters) while the B-wing is supposed to be a capital ship killer. How can those two ships have such different roles and still be "balanced counterparts" to each other, especially when the other fighters between the New Republic and the Empire (TIE fighter and X-wing; TIE bomber and Y-wing; TIE Interceptor and A-wing) have far more equivalence between them?

Think about that: that does not make sense! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdba9C2G14)

EDIT: Just after I posted this, I remembered the Missile Boat, which is a cap ship killer like the B-wing...but it's also a redonkulous Game Breaker (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GameBreaker) that any sense of "balancing" with that ship would and must in good conscience be considered utterly and completely Lovecraftian insane that not any of the Elder Gods, Outer Gods, or Great Old Ones would even think about doing it without screaming in gibbering terror. Hell, even Nyarlathotep himself might blink at that. :eek2: :nervous: :eek2:

In the game the emperor himself decided top mothball the few MIS remaining because they were more dangerous in enemy hands than useful for the empire itself because not even the Empire could tank an assault from a few missile boats.

IIRC the MIS was extremely expensive, even more than the Tie Defender, so they had very few in production.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Rhymes on June 19, 2020, 08:41:10 pm
But the TIE Defender is (or so it played in the original TIE Fighter game) way more maneuverable than the B-Wing; the Defender is supposed to be the ultimate space superiority fighter (outclassing other fighters) while the B-wing is supposed to be a capital ship killer. How can those two ships have such different roles and still be "balanced counterparts" to each other, especially when the other fighters between the New Republic and the Empire (TIE fighter and X-wing; TIE bomber and Y-wing; TIE Interceptor and A-wing) have far more equivalence between them?

TIE Fighter is Legends canon. This is new canon. The performance of ships in XvT has no bearing on how they'll handle here.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on June 19, 2020, 10:33:13 pm
But the TIE Defender is (or so it played in the original TIE Fighter game) way more maneuverable than the B-Wing; the Defender is supposed to be the ultimate space superiority fighter (outclassing other fighters) while the B-wing is supposed to be a capital ship killer. How can those two ships have such different roles and still be "balanced counterparts" to each other, especially when the other fighters between the New Republic and the Empire (TIE fighter and X-wing; TIE bomber and Y-wing; TIE Interceptor and A-wing) have far more equivalence between them?

TIE Fighter is Legends canon. This is new canon. The performance of ships in XvT has no bearing on how they'll handle here.

The B-wing is still a spruced up Y-wing in canon (that is: same role better stats) and the only discernible difference between the Legends and the Canon Tie Defender is the absence of ion cannons on the latter (now it has six lasers instead of the four of its Legends counterpart) probably to make it less like a multirole craft but it's still OP compared to basically anything else unless it's piloted by Hera Syndulla.

PS: also in canon the Tie Defender was defunded in favour of diverting additional funds to the first Death Star after Thrawn disappeared during the last battle of Lothal at the end of Rebels and the destruction of the facilities due to a screwup by governor Pryce shortly before so it shouldn't be present or at least its presence should be limited enough to not be relevant in the immediate post-ROTJ.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Alan Bolte on June 20, 2020, 12:16:11 am
I'm wondering how they'll deal with visual issues like the TIE fighter not having launchers or the Bomber not having chin guns. From the looks of the trailer, they've just decided not to worry about it. I feel like these things would be easy to fix, but pedants like me are the only ones who'll really care.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: X3N0-Life-Form on June 20, 2020, 04:31:18 am
I miss the time when Star Wars, somehow, made more sense.
T'was a long time ago...
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on June 20, 2020, 08:54:32 am
I'm wondering how they'll deal with visual issues like the TIE fighter not having launchers or the Bomber not having chin guns. From the looks of the trailer, they've just decided not to worry about it. I feel like these things would be easy to fix, but pedants like me are the only ones who'll really care.
https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2020/6/18/21295900/star-wars-squadrons-everything-you-need-to-know
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: starlord on June 20, 2020, 03:07:00 pm
I wouldn’t worry: no doubt you’ll be able to fit a Death Star superlaser on the tie fighter with enough Exp... or through micro transactions I don’t know...
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on June 20, 2020, 03:44:13 pm
I wouldn’t worry: no doubt you’ll be able to fit a Death Star superlaser on the tie fighter with enough Exp... or through micro transactions I don’t know...
They explain how it works in the article.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: deathspeed on June 20, 2020, 04:26:13 pm
I thought it was interesting how the article discussed how TIE fighter will never have shields, even through upgrades.  I'm not a huge stickler for canon, but interesting nonetheless.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on June 20, 2020, 06:33:22 pm
Good lord, I'm reading the interview right now and looking at the picture of all the possible added components. Among lots of other nifty stuff,

THEY HAVE MULTI-LOCK MISSILES!!!!11!!1!11

I'm in loooove.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: wookieejedi on June 20, 2020, 09:21:38 pm
New update too: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/squadrons/news/pilot-briefing-gameplay-overview (https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/squadrons/news/pilot-briefing-gameplay-overview)
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on June 21, 2020, 01:58:27 am
I miss the time when Star Wars, somehow, made more sense.

When exactly was that? - Because this is the franchise where the fandom has been trying overexplain a statement, that was supposed to be an obvious boast/falsehood by a crook to intimidate a naive farmboy, so that it was never technically incorrect (and even got an official movie for it from Disney) ever since the first moive - which is longer than many fans are alive.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Jeryko on August 04, 2020, 04:39:15 pm
New gameplay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGSkCalsisU
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 05, 2020, 02:04:08 am
It's definitely good looking.   But I won't know how I feel until I get to try it out.


Hope there's a console demo.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on September 24, 2020, 03:30:05 pm
Multiplayer progression has been outlines:
https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/squadrons/news/pilot-briefing-ranks-rewards-progression?isLocalized=true

- You get XP and Glory from completing matches.
- You can gain additional Glory from completing a daily rotating laundry list of Challenges.
- Level gains (via XP) give you Requisition Points.

- Glory pays for your cosmetics.
- Requisition Points pay for your Components.

- Additional Cosmetics can be earned through Operations, which are bascially half-seasons of 2 months.

... and there is a representation of how good you are each Operation.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: BlueFlames on September 26, 2020, 09:20:38 am
That sounds f'n miserable.

I'm sure EA will be happy to sell you requisitions and XP boosters for cash.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Scourge of Ages on September 26, 2020, 09:53:12 am
I'm sure EA will be happy to sell you requisitions and XP boosters for cash.

But of course! EA gonna EA
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on September 26, 2020, 10:44:12 am
That sounds f'n miserable.

It actually pretty standard, from what I hear from the ppl that play PvP shooters (doesn't sound to different from MOBA progression I know; except with, you know, "spend money on cosemtics because F2P") - the test will be the balance of the components

I'm sure EA will be happy to sell you requisitions and XP boosters for cash.

... except that already made it a selling point that they are not going to do that:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-06-20-star-wars-squadrons-doesnt-have-microtransactions-isnt-a-live-service-game
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on September 26, 2020, 11:14:47 am
At launch of couse, Activision pulled the same crap with a Crash Bandicoot game.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on September 26, 2020, 11:55:47 am
True, but on the other hand, when talking EA it is worth to look at the side of the company that is actually the source of monitisation practices...

... and there has been slight movement on that front recently, going into FIFA 21 - by no means measures that indiciate some kind of major policy change, mind you, but at least there is movement there, e.g. by throwing out mechancis and thus loot box content with poor reception:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-08-10-ea-has-finally-removed-fitness-items-from-fifa-ultimate-team-for-fifa-21

Now I don't play sports games, because reasons, so I rely heavily on second hand information as effect of such a change - but it is interesting to observe.

Time will tell what it all means.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on September 26, 2020, 01:07:21 pm
True, but on the other hand, when talking EA it is worth to look at the side of the company that is actually the source of monitisation practices...

... and there has been slight movement on that front recently, going into FIFA 21 - by no means measures that indiciate some kind of major policy change, mind you, but at least there is movement there, e.g. by throwing out mechancis and thus loot box content with poor reception:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-08-10-ea-has-finally-removed-fitness-items-from-fifa-ultimate-team-for-fifa-21

Now I don't play sports games, because reasons, so I rely heavily on second hand information as effect of such a change - but it is interesting to observe.

Time will tell what it all means.

The EU and former EU governments have been increasingly hostile to lootboxes and FIFA has a huge market there.
Still never underestimate the deadly mixture of greed and stupidity of triple ayyy gaming companies.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on September 26, 2020, 04:14:25 pm
Well, we will see, won't we?

However, I wouldn't bet my money on government regulation being the (singular) effective antidote, despite the fact I will welcome it as neccessary and overdue.

I suspect whatever comes of Epic v Apple-case next year will have a huge impact on the future of microtransactions. Even if it is settled out-of-court it is bound to have some ripple effects on the buisness relationships that allow microtransactions to work.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: BlueFlames on September 26, 2020, 08:16:39 pm
That sounds f'n miserable.

It actually pretty standard, from what I hear from the ppl that play PvP shooters (doesn't sound to different from MOBA progression I know; except with, you know, "spend money on cosemtics because F2P") - the test will be the balance of the components

Just because it's common doesn't make it sound any less miserable.

Few games actually benefit from having half a dozen skinner box progress meters.  Further, I doubt EA's sincerity, since the main purpose of all of these out-of-place currencies and progress bars is to monetize them.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on September 27, 2020, 01:12:18 pm
Then hit them were it hurts instead of whining about when its about the glorified techdemo that exists so EA can simulate innovation to their investors...

Just saying this:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-09-27-fans-hit-out-at-ea-for-promoting-fifa-microtransactions-in-magazines-for-children

will be more relevant to changing EA's direction towards microtransaction than signaling your antagonism here.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: deathspeed on September 27, 2020, 05:36:54 pm
I am going to get this game.  The only question is when - do I wait a few months for a sale, or buy it at launch?  If the latter, I may as well pre-order to get the cosmetic bonuses, although I have never cared about cosmetic items in any game.  I was hoping for a Play First trial, where I could play before the actual launch, but the only Play First i see in Origin is for Madden 21.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: wookieejedi on September 27, 2020, 09:24:18 pm
Indeed. There were multiple YTers who got to play and record gameplay in July, so I think that was the strategy this time. Also as an FYI you can get the game on Steam too, which is handy for the primarily Steam users.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on October 01, 2020, 07:53:54 am
Early Reviews are coming in...

... fun little thing I noticed because it is all too familiar, the AI seems to have some of the same problems with "not crashing into stationary objects" that the Freespace 2 AI has - a true appeal to the nostaliga in the hearts of Space Combat Sim Enthusiasts :D
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on October 01, 2020, 07:51:51 pm
I did the tutorial and the first mission, there is apparently an imperial pilot named Mareek Steele and a pilot named Ace Azzameen among the rebels, who knew? ;)
I wish they’d have let me bind the controls before starting the game, fortunately you can do that in the hangar before taking off the first time (as well as you can only activate the Vsync then instead of having the option in the menu you get before starting the game, the initial cutscene was tearing like crazy in points), the approach to the campaign gives a lot of Wing Commander vibes.
I still have to get the hang of the way the game works and might revise my HOTAS bindings accordingly.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: deathspeed on October 01, 2020, 08:41:14 pm
I have it pre-loaded on PC but it's not available for another 2 hours (11:00 PM CDT).  I have to be up early tomorrow so I doubt I'll stay up to try it out tonight.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on October 02, 2020, 01:57:42 am
Ace Azzameen among the rebels, who knew? :wink:


Uncle Anton told him not to get involved......  😭
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: crizza on October 02, 2020, 05:19:26 pm
What got me interested: Can fly B-Wing?
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on October 02, 2020, 07:14:52 pm
What got me interested: Can fly B-Wing?
Nope, cut out because it was filling the same role as the Y-wing like it happened at the time with the launch version of X-wing vs Tie Fighter.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Su-tehp on October 02, 2020, 08:01:34 pm
Ace Azzameen among the rebels, who knew? :wink:


Uncle Anton told him not to get involved......  😭

We never did find out what happened to Uncle Anton. And we never did find out why he did what he did, did we?
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: starlord on October 02, 2020, 08:40:01 pm
Sadly that is correct.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Mobius on October 03, 2020, 04:41:33 am
From my perspective as a die-hard PS4 player using a dualshock, it's taking a while to get used to controls. I haven't tried Multi yet, as I'm focusing on single player mode.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: 0rph3u5 on October 03, 2020, 08:46:25 am
From my perspective as a die-hard PS4 player using a dualshock, it's taking a while to get used to controls. I haven't tried Multi yet, as I'm focusing on single player mode.

I am using a knock-off 360 controller, so I am in the same boat - but it is mostly a matter of getting used to set up around wheels to navigate the options for trageting and comms. Targeting feels especially weird at times, but then the targeting automatically snaps to the ship you are shooting at anyway. Freelook is the most annoying to control, as it is a mode toggle with double pressing the right stick.
Thankfully often used commands in single player are mapped to single and double presses.


I really like the use scenery in many missions, even if it trips up the AI at times - I was already going to double down on the use scenery pieces for upcoming missions, but now I am convinced that's the road to go.

The Single Player however cannot just not hide that it is an expanded upon VR techdemo - its got some cool moments in the gameplay, but aside from the abundance of scenery, but only a few things that haven't been realized in FSO yet (although they should be possible with some work).
Spoiler:
One thing I really liked about Imperial sections is that is makes it really believable how the fighting force superior in number and tech keeps getting their arse handed to them.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Scourge of Ages on October 04, 2020, 04:18:06 pm
If anybody wants to watch the game in action, here's a really good LP by MATN:
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on October 05, 2020, 04:55:51 am
Love me some space combat simulation but not sure I'd enjoy this.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on October 05, 2020, 03:31:15 pm
I did what I think is the last sequence of empire missions and I'm glad they didn't sugarcoat the empire like I feared they would.
Spoiler:
You get a mission whose main objective is "go kill some civilians to piss off the Republic and make them fall into a trap" with a medal awarded if you massacre all of the civilians before you get to the main target and the next mission gives you a medal for killing civilians fleeing from a shipyard.
And yes, the republic pilots and officers on open comms actively berate you for it or even try to convince you not to be the absolute war criminal ass you are for once.

Love me some space combat simulation but not sure I'd enjoy this.

The single player is very old school wing commander in narrative style but with more variety in the missions.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Grizzly on October 06, 2020, 11:54:54 pm
I've been playing Squadrons too

I like how it's pretty complex and hectic, it's basically all I wanted from a multiplayer space sim released in 2020.

Even the unlock system is very lenient: Each component costs 1 point to unlock, you get 2 points each level up (so basically each match at my rate), you can unlock anything in any order. It's a far cry from the likes of most Battlefields.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on October 07, 2020, 06:52:14 pm
At the moment I haven't even tried multiplayer.
I still work because a total of three people have decided to have their vacation in October so I have another week before I can have the time and the patience to play multiplayer on my crappy wi-fi.
Especiallly considering that as long as there are guests I might get randomly interrupted in the hours of the day my brain is actually active enough to deal with human opponents even if my shift hasn't technically started yet.

Also there are bugs in the achievements so even replaying the campaign for the medals is out of the question for now.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Grizzly on October 17, 2020, 03:17:26 am
Been playing more and more of this, especially its multiplayer.

The singleplayer is fine, throughout its missions it's hectic, star-warsy fun. I like how the rebel squad are all a bunch of misfits whilst the imperial squad are all egocentric assholes. What I don't like is how the hangar conversations are written: It's just the other pilots talking long monologues at you, which is weird enough with your pilot literally having a voice. It's just too long and doesn't really fit the rest of the dialogue in game.

The multiplayer is amazing and clearly what this game revolves around. The game has character here still: Each player gets a call-sign, each player can select their voice's personality, and the pilots all talk to each other still, which really helps the dogfight movie feel.
Here the difference between the TIEs and the alphabet-wings becomes most apparent: The TIE Fighters are not the flimsy "goes down in two shots" thing it is in the 90s games, but they still lack shields and are more manoeuvrable then their Republic counterparts. They are also far more "in the moment" wonders: Whilst the republic pilot has to systematically overcharge their systems and plan ahead wrt what system they feel they need the most when entering combat, the TIEs can just happily shunt their excess power from engines to weapons and back: If a TIE pilot decides that the thing in front of them needs to die right now, it can happily drain all the power from engines, becoming a mobile turret, and blast away.

Meanwhile, in my lovely X-Wing (I'm adoring the X-Wing), whenever I spawn in I overcharge the shields first, then weapons, and then put all power in engines. The overcharge in the alphabet-wings drains very slowly, so I can use the increased manoeuvrability that having more power to engines offer, and then boost away once my shields or weapons are drained, to safely recharge from a distance.

Fans of WW2 pacific fleet combat will note that the TIEs tend to occupy the same space of the A6M Zero of being really good turn fighters whilst the Republic ships are more like the Wildcats' booming-and-zooming, and yes. They absolutely nail that feel.

Also you can paint the X-Wing pink which is great. And the Imperials get the option of slapping royal purple on everything, which is also very good.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: mjn.mixael on October 22, 2020, 12:05:50 pm
Interesting.. I loved the single player, but when I started playing multi I got frustrated and bored. Haven't even felt like picking the game back up even. Different strokes I guess.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Grizzly on October 22, 2020, 12:28:56 pm
I'm enjoying the SP more and more as I get deeper into it.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: crizza on November 20, 2020, 11:22:18 am
Considering the game, since they add the B-Wing and TIE-Defender...
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: CP5670 on December 08, 2020, 10:58:08 am
I picked this up and started the SP campaign. I'm liking it so far. The flight mechanics and controls have a very Freespace-like feel, more than any game I have seen in years.

I've got a Reverb G2 headset coming in and am wondering if it's worth waiting for that before I get further into it. People are saying the VR in this game is well worth it.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: ah_jim on December 16, 2020, 11:40:51 am
Enjoyed the SP. Multiplayer can be annoying when MM'ed with people that just don't die.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Buckshee Rounds on January 11, 2021, 08:00:44 am
Gotta say I'm enjoying this quite a bit. The mechanics are freespace-y, but the actual flying is quite different. More floaty and ace-combaty, particularly given the drift manoeuvres.

Tried playing with m+k and it was quite painful flying that way. Works great with a gamepad, the controls are quite intuitive too. Not tried multiplayer yet so can't comment on it.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on January 11, 2021, 12:30:12 pm
Managed to fire it up in VR,  immersion is great, I think on PS4 VR halves the resolution or something so gonna try it off VR next chance I get.
Gameplay is OK.  👍

Not tried multi yet.   
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: CP5670 on January 24, 2021, 05:14:40 pm
This game is awesome in VR. It really feels like Freespace or TIE Fighter taken to the next level. The SP campaign is short but quite varied and immersive. I initially tried a gamepad but ended up using the keyboard-only config I'm used to with FS. The cockpits are very detailed and make it feel like you are really there.

It's poorly optimized on PC though. I have to run it in 60hz in VR, as it doesn't get 90fps consistently on any settings or resolution (falls to 45fps with reprojection) even on a top end PC. It's still very usable though and the 60hz flicker is less noticeable in a dark game.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Grizzly on January 24, 2021, 05:32:23 pm
Games that support both VR and regular modes have given me no end of performance issues in VR. The game runs just fine for me in regular modes, fwiw
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: CP5670 on January 24, 2021, 05:39:09 pm
That is true to some extent, but I can usually get 90fps in other games by turning down the resolution or settings. Somehow VR is a lot more intensive than regular flatscreen even at a similar resolution. Maybe the FOV is bigger and it renders more stuff.

Apparently this (https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/j5awj6/star_was_squadrons_is_literally_45_fps_for_me/) is the issue.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Wobble73 on March 23, 2021, 09:05:57 am
I have this game and recently bought a Quest 2 headset, however, whenever I try to fire this up in VR after paring a gamepad to the headset (Xbox One gamepad), the gamepad unpairs itself and I have no controls in game? Either that or I just get a black screen within the headset, audio plays but no visuals? This happens whether using Virtual Desktop or the Oculus Link cable using a Radeaon RX 580 graphics card.

Does anyone know whats going wrong here or have any fixes available?
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on March 24, 2021, 05:07:20 am
I have this game and recently bought a Quest 2 headset, however, whenever I try to fire this up in VR after paring a gamepad to the headset (Xbox One gamepad), the gamepad unpairs itself and I have no controls in game? Either that or I just get a black screen within the headset, audio plays but no visuals? This happens whether using Virtual Desktop or the Oculus Link cable using a Radeaon RX 580 graphics card.

Does anyone know whats going wrong here or have any fixes available?

Have you tried disabling the steam input API?
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Mikes on March 27, 2021, 11:50:05 am
I have this game and recently bought a Quest 2 headset, however, whenever I try to fire this up in VR after paring a gamepad to the headset (Xbox One gamepad), the gamepad unpairs itself and I have no controls in game? Either that or I just get a black screen within the headset, audio plays but no visuals? This happens whether using Virtual Desktop or the Oculus Link cable using a Radeaon RX 580 graphics card.

Does anyone know whats going wrong here or have any fixes available?

Isn't the quest the standalone headset? Didn't know you can even use that with games like that. Maybe pair the Gamepad to the PC in this case?

Lemme know how it works out in any case. I may be getting myself a Quest 2 too if it works well.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Phantom Hoover on March 27, 2021, 06:34:43 pm
The balance of this game is totally ****ed up, and it sucks. The One Weird Trick to win in Fleet Battles seems to be "get put on the Republic team by matchmaking". The game is so skewed against Imperials that I almost never see them win.

My suspicion is that this is because Imperial ships being fast but lightly armoured makes them worse across the board at actually assaulting the flagship than shielded Republic ships, because that's where I consistently see the game break towards the Republic team.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Colonol Dekker on March 27, 2021, 09:51:18 pm

Isn't the quest the standalone headset? Didn't know you can even use that with games like that. Maybe pair the Gamepad to the PC in this case?


Yeah it's standalone but you can still connect to a pc system for traditional VR functionality is what I'm told.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Det. Bullock on March 28, 2021, 01:16:57 am
The balance of this game is totally ****ed up, and it sucks. The One Weird Trick to win in Fleet Battles seems to be "get put on the Republic team by matchmaking". The game is so skewed against Imperials that I almost never see them win.

My suspicion is that this is because Imperial ships being fast but lightly armoured makes them worse across the board at actually assaulting the flagship than shielded Republic ships, because that's where I consistently see the game break towards the Republic team.

I think a part of it is that the implants on the rebel cruiser are much less obvious to spot and many just don't use the targeting computer to spot them.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Grizzly on March 28, 2021, 01:22:17 am
The balance of this game is totally ****ed up, and it sucks. The One Weird Trick to win in Fleet Battles seems to be "get put on the Republic team by matchmaking". The game is so skewed against Imperials that I almost never see them win.

My suspicion is that this is because Imperial ships being fast but lightly armoured makes them worse across the board at actually assaulting the flagship than shielded Republic ships, because that's where I consistently see the game break towards the Republic team.

When I played it was the other way around, the meta revolving around the TIE Bomber consistently.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Phantom Hoover on March 28, 2021, 06:13:06 pm
It seems to invert a fair bit based on skill level, having looked up more about the meta since.
Title: Re: Star Wars: Squadrons
Post by: Wobble73 on April 15, 2021, 01:13:42 pm
I have this game and recently bought a Quest 2 headset, however, whenever I try to fire this up in VR after paring a gamepad to the headset (Xbox One gamepad), the gamepad unpairs itself and I have no controls in game? Either that or I just get a black screen within the headset, audio plays but no visuals? This happens whether using Virtual Desktop or the Oculus Link cable using a Radeaon RX 580 graphics card.

Does anyone know whats going wrong here or have any fixes available?

Isn't the quest the standalone headset? Didn't know you can even use that with games like that. Maybe pair the Gamepad to the PC in this case?

Lemme know how it works out in any case. I may be getting myself a Quest 2 too if it works well.

Sorry for the late reply, haven't been on here for a while.

Yeah, using an Oculus Link cable in a USB3.0 port or better, or using Virtual Desktop wirelessly via the wifi, you can use the Quest 2 as a PCVR headset and play Rift and Stream VR games.

Still haven't figured this out, jusr gave up on the vr mode and played it 2d style, finished the single payer mode and then lost intrerest in it LOL. I've yet to try the multiplayer as I don't often play many multiplayer games and I would probably get beat quite easily on it.

I also have issues actually getting the game to work properly in VR mode too, sometimes I don't get an image, just a FPS counter in the top left hand corner of the display?

I've played COD Warzone on the headset via Vitrual Desktop and had the display as a large curved screen in front of me which is quite immersive, apart from having to play seated and using a joypad. Can't play it like that for too long however as 1. The headset gets hot 2. The charge doesn't last more than an hour and a half and 3. it can cause a little motion sickness LOL.